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New tags on official vehicles will make it easier for first responders to identify public employees who need access to the scene of disasters, such as the devastation from Hurricane Sandy at Midland Beach.
(Advance photo: Bill Lyons)

Coming soon to a street near you: Vehicles with license plates that are bordered in red.

Get used to it. There will be more and more of them thanks to New York State’s effort to make it easier for officials at the scene of emergencies to identify public employees who should be granted access.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state Department of Motor Vehicles will soon start issuing the first emergency management red-bordered New York State license plates for certain vehicles. The red plates will also carry a new Emergency Management (“EM”) indicator for fast, easy identification.

The vehicles to be so designated include those registered to state agencies as well as to political subdivisions such as counties, cities, towns and villages. The name of the state agency or the political subdivision will be displayed on the plate. “State” will appear at the bottom of state agency plates.

According to the plan, drivers who serve a critical role will be assured they have immediate access to affected locations during a state emergency.

In addition, these vehicles will be given priority access to such necessities as emergency fuel supplies.

The whole thing is being underwritten by the state Department of Homeland Security, which will determine how many of the special red license plates will be available to the various agencies and localities.

Jerome M. Hauer, Commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, said, “These plates will aid in quickly identifying people with the critical need to enter areas that have restricted access and who should be on the road during times of emergency. It’s another step forward in better preparing our state.”

Gov. Cuomo echoed, “New York has lived through the new reality of repeated extreme weather and natural disasters and we are re-imagining every part of how our state responds so that when the next storm comes, we are ready,” adding that the new plates will “help law enforcement and first responders respond faster and keep New Yorkers safe when the worst happens.”

The plan makes a lot of sense . . . up to the point where you start to consider the potential for abuse.

In the weeks after Sandy, how many people would have done anything to get their hands on license plates that would have given them first crack at emergency supplies of gasoline or access to storm-damaged neighborhoods? Can you see these plates stolen off officials’ cars in another such emergency?

Far-fetched? How many people forge, “borrow” or otherwise abuse those “official” placards which allow them to park their cars in otherwise illegal spots in the city? The advocacy group Transportation Alternatives estimates there are about 25,000 phony parking permits on the streets of New York City.

Even in spots where these scofflaws are not technically permitted to park even with a placard, they still do and get away with it, because the agents who issue tickets aren’t certain and are reluctant to risk a backlash.

And yes, the regulations stipulate that to get the red-bordered license plates, a vehicle must either be owned or controlled and registered in the name of the state agency or locality. In addition, the highest-ranking government official in each locality has to certify that the identified vehicles are eligible for the program. That’s fine, but we think they’re going to have to tighten up the system better than that.

For instance, how tightly will that be controlled in jurisdictions that function on favoritism? Is the state going to do rigorous annual checks? Can’t you just see the relatives and friends of high-ranking officials in some towns and counties running around with red-trimmed license plates even though they have no designated emergency role? We can.

We can also picture these louts threatening attempts to restore order in emergencies as they seek to claim what isn’t theirs.

Our point here is not to urge that the program be dumped. Government officials and employees who have roles in responding to emergencies should have access the rest of us don’t have.

But we hope the governor, the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and the Department of Motor Vehicles recognize the potential for abuse and take added precautions so that only those entitled to the special plates get them.